What is WWE thinking with John Cena?

WWE is making the Royal Rumble winner in John Cena completely meaningless by having him put his title shot on the line on the next Raw.

JEFF WILENJAWBREAKER/ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

WWE Raw threw a curveball on Monday.

Problem is, it wasn't even over the plate.

WWE is going to have John Cena put his title shot for WrestleMania 29 against WWE Champion The Rock on the line in a match against CM Punk next Monday.

Why WWE would have Cena do this is beyond me.

It's simply stupid.

I realize WWE has several weeks to kill before WM29, but this isn't the way to go.

By doing this, WWE is making the Royal Rumble winner in Cena completely meaningless.

Even if Cena beats Punk on Raw, as expected, and keeps his title shot against The Rock.

Let's review Raw:

Sheamus asks Ryback if he's a "machine or some mindless neanderthal." REACT: I hinted Sunday night that Sheamus-Ryback seems like a lock for WM29. I'm more of a believer after this segment. Chris Jericho breaking these two up and setting up a six-man tag-team match was smart. Jericho drawing comparisons of The Shield to the NWO and Nexus was solid.

Mark Henry beats Sin Cara. REACT: Squash, as expected. I'm fine with the match tease of The Great Khali vs. Henry, who bailed from the ring.

The Miz beats Antonio Cesaro. REACT: The Miz needed this win. Nice match pace and match finish with the figure four tapout after the knee injury angle.

Jack Swagger's promo of "we the people." REACT: I'm buying into Swagger more, but I don't think most fans are.

Daniel Bryan and Kane chat. Kane said, "I don't deal well with snakes." REACT: I was hoping Jake "The Snake" Roberts would show up. No such luck, as we are left with "The Viper" Randy Orton -- who was funny when he called Kane "Barney."

Alberto Del Rio beats Dolph Ziggler. REACT: Statement win for Del Rio was much-needed. I liked how Swagger was observing the match. Del Rio's reverse face-first suplex was superb. Solid finish with the distraction tapout. And an excellent aftermath with the tease of Ziggler cashing in, Ricardo Rodriguez running away with the briefcase and a second attempt to cash-in thwarted by Del Rio.

Wade Barrett shows clips of "Dead Man Down." REACT: I didn't even see Barrett in the clips. Good to see a Barrett-Sheamus tease.

Paul Heyman and Vickie Guerrero chat. REACT: I can't figure out where WWE is going with Brad Maddox as Vickie's new assistant. Vince McMahon's quick appearance helped. I liked his line to Heyman of "just close your mouth. Because when your mouth is open, you're lying."

Vince McMahon vs. Paul Heyman next week on Raw. REACT: I can't see this happening.

The Shield beat Chris Jericho/Sheamus/Ryback. REACT: WWE is "all in" with The Shield, and that's a great sign. Nice match pace with a scary barrier bump after a Sheamus kick by Dean Ambrose. Nice match time in this back-and-forth battle. I liked the pin finish with a double-team on Jericho off the top rope.

Damien Sandow beats down Kofi Kingston. REACT: Let me get this straight. R-Truth is making the save for Kofi? Poor, Kofi. R-Truth did well here, though.

Randy Orton beats Kane. REACT: Nothing horrible with an OK pace. I didn't care for another distraction win, this time with Daniel Bryan, via the RKO.

The Rock shows up with the University of Louisiana Lafayette band. REACT: The Rock's comments about the reasons to have a new world belt -- "not look like a toy" and to "never, ever spin" were awesome comments. I liked how The Rock mentioned the few greats in Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin. I'm going to call the new belt by Brahma Bull Belt. I didn't like the show's uncertainty for WM29 with The Rock about to say who he wanted to face, Cena strolling out and then Punk taking Cena out. Spare me.

ANALYSIS: Unless WWE has the Undertaker assist Cena next week, setting up Cena vs. The Rock and Punk vs. Undertaker, I'm going to be disappointed. Cena should never have put his title match spot on the line. This is wrong on numerous levels. There were also a few other problems I had. The rest of the show was OK. The Cena Decision kills this grade. Blame the Undertaker's indecision if you want. Sorry. GRADE: D.